Saturday, November 17, 2007 Girl’s death prompts advice: Keep class projects low-cost
AN education official is calling on all teachers and parents not to be too hard on their students and children, to avoid “another Marianette” case, referring to the recent suicide of a Davaoeña girl.
For one, Department of Education (DepEd) Regional Director Carolino Mordeno encouraged group projects rather than individual assignments.
“This way, students can also save on projects, build friendships and still learn,” he said.
“Let us look at life now. It’s different. So we have to make some adjustments without compromising the quality of education of our students,” he told Sun.Star Cebu. What’s important, he added, is the “direct application of learning.”
Marianette Amper, a 12-year-old sixth grader at the Ma-a Central School in Davao City, hanged herself last Nov. 2, the day after her father told her he could not give her the P100 she needed for a school project.
She left a diary where she wrote that she could not attend school because they had no money for fares.
Partnership
Mordeno called on local government units and housing communities to build at least one elementary and one high school for each barangay.
“Let’s bring schools closer to the people so that students won’t be worried about the fares. A school must be part of the design of each community. They must provide the space. DepEd can provide the building and teachers through our school-building programs,” said Mordeno.
While he lauded the use of Kaoshiung buses, especially in Metro Cebu’s cities, there are no similar free transportation services in far-flung areas.
Mordeno also called on parents to help in the wholesome development of children by being responsible.
“They should think of many ways of earning a living and exercise restraint in their expenses. They must learn to save for the rainy days like recycling school materials for the next school year,” he said. (NRC)
